Father accused of helping son after murder

The father of a teenager accused of the stabbing death of former Trinity Grammar schoolboy Peter Savage in 1995 disposed of the murder weapon and helped his son flee the country, a NSW Supreme Court jury has heard.

Rafael Rodriguez, 60, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of being an accessory to murder after the fact.

Peter, 16, was stabbed to death on Mills Street, Lidcombe, after allegedly refusing to hand his wallet to two teenagers who confronted him as he walked home from rugby training.

The case remained unsolved for more than 10 years until a childhood friend of one of the killers came forward to police in 2006, sparking an undercover operation that resulted in a manslaughter conviction of a now 33-year-old man.

He cannot be named for legal reasons because he was 17 at the time of the incident.

The Crown Prosecutor, Margaret Cunneen, SC, said Peter was allegedly stabbed by Abraham Rodriguez, 18, using a knife provided by the other teenager.

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Ms Cunneen said the day after Peter was killed, Abraham Rodriguez applied for a passport. About four weeks later he flew out of Australia to Los Angeles. He is believed to have been living in El Salvador ever since.

Abraham's father Rafael is accused of helping his son evade conviction by disposing of the knife and helping him leave Australia.

The jury heard Abraham gave the bloodied knife to a friend, Nguyen Long Le, who washed it and placed it into a plastic bag.

The following day, Rafael allegedly called Le and asked him to handover the knife. When Le delivered the knife to the Rodriguez home the next morning, Le will claim Rafael said, "You're doing the right thing, you are saving my son's life and doing yourself a huge favour."

Ms Cunneen said Le will also say Rafael said, "don't worry about Abraham, you will never see him again, he's gone, he's out of the country, he's got some family things, so don't worry about it."

Rafael's barrister, Peter Hamill, SC, said Rafael denies the charges. He said Le is a convicted criminal who agreed to testify against the Rodriguezs in return for a reduced sentence on drugs convictions.

Don't worry about Abraham, you will never see him again, he's gone, he's out of the country.